


One Missing Piece

by thisislegit



Category: Lupin III
Genre: Fluff, Goemons POV, M/M, POV Third Person Limited, Some Humor, observation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-27
Updated: 2019-12-27
Packaged: 2021-02-26 08:14:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21990100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thisislegit/pseuds/thisislegit
Summary: Goemon's been trying to figure out if Jigen and Lupin are a couple.
Relationships: Jigen Daisuke/Arsène Lupin III
Comments: 12
Kudos: 100





	One Missing Piece

**Author's Note:**

> (dips my toe into this fandom)  
> un-beta'd, pls let me know of any missing words/spelling mistakes

Goemon was almost sure there was something between the two. Lupin and Jigen. Always together since he first met them. Before then even. Their friendship shone brightest when a plan went awry and danger cut too close as they read what the others' intentions were without speaking. At first, he didn’t suspect a thing. Lupin chased after Fujiko faster than he ever chased after a job, but it was when she wasn’t there that things seemed…off. Not off in a bad way, but the tone of the room would shift in a visible manner.

Lupin would smooth out, acting less like a lecherous idiot and more like the criminal mastermind the media both abhorred and adored. Their interactions were quiet. Actually, quiet was pushing it. More like quieter. Lupin’s hands would stay animated, his gestures big and flamboyant, but when he was about to knock something over, Jigen would wordlessly move it out of the way. Or sometimes, when Jigen was looking for something he’d walk by the back of Lupin’s chair, and the thief would pass it over as he chewed on his latest plot. Their fingers would linger over each other for a moment too long until Jigen went back to his own planning.

Instances like these piled up as time went on, and Goemon found himself searching for these moments as if trying to put together a puzzle with missing center pieces. He didn’t know why his curiosity was pushing his gaze from the corner of his eye as the friends threw their arms around each other after a victory or a lucky escape. There shouldn’t have been anything interesting about watching Lupin adjust Jigen’s hat only to run off with a smile and a wink towards their next venture. The fondness Jigen had in his eyes as he picked Lupin up from the table he’d fallen asleep on, to move the maps aside, and take the thief into his bedroom was simply out of camaraderie. Didn’t matter that he saw Jigen scowl after pulling out a pack of soaked cigarettes from an unexpected fall into the water which had Lupin taking out a box of his partner’s favorite from a hidden pocket, perfectly dry. There wasn’t any meaning in Jigen making last minute adjustments to most of Lupin’s disguises before he left. Adjusting his tie. Tucking the loose blades of hair on a wig behind his ears. Blending the foundation on his cheeks with his calloused thumbs and giving him a shoulder pat with a grin as he sent Lupin off. It was arbitrary.

“Damn it.” Jigen flicked his lighter for the twelfth time getting sparks that were too loose to light a drop a gasoline no less a cigarette.

Goemon could see the lighter was out of fuel in the dark hole they were huddled in. It was another digging heist. He wore a mask to keep dirt and pebbles from flicking onto his face. He had a bad habit of licking his lips when he was too focused on another task, and he was sure he’d tasted more types of clay than a geologist at this point in his career.

“Hold still,” Lupin dropped the half-full wheel barrow he’d been pushing.

Reaching up, the thief placed a hand on the back of Jigen’s neck. The lit cigarette hanging from his lip’s touched the dry one between the gunman’s until the tip grew orange with heat. Jigen took a drag from the cigarette, and Lupin’s hand dropped when he let out a puff of smoke.

“Thanks.” Jigen smiled and went back to chipping away at the rock in front of them.

“No problem~.” Lupin picked up the wheelbarrow again, filling it with the dirt Goemon had dug up.

They hadn’t done _that_ before. Or maybe they had when Goemon’s back was turned. Technically, Goemon’s back was kind of turned. He was only half looking their direction from how he faced the growing tunnel. His hair shielded his eyes, so perhaps they didn’t know. Maybe they assumed he didn’t see it because they went back to working as if it didn’t happen. He wasn’t going to say anything. He’d been doing this crime thing for a while, but it felt like he was still taking small steps into the underground whereas Jigen and Lupin grew up surrounded by it. At least, that’s what he assumed due to how experienced they were adjusting with the punches. His shovel went too easily through the next hunk of dirt and a ray of light peaked through the hole. They’d made it to the underground safe.

“Showtime.” Lupin grinned and slipped through the hole without disturbing the rest of the soil.

Goemon took off his mask, his hand on his sword just in case. He could ask. He could, but they had a job to do.

The job was a bust. When they entered the safe, all that was left was a note from Fujiko asking Lupin for forgiveness. The thief was pissed, but swooned when he saw the kiss mark by her signature. Jigen was pinching the bridge of his nose, ignoring Lupin’s excuses, as they trudged through the tunnel they’d come out of. It wasn’t until they were back in the fiat that Lupin admitted to attaching a small bomb under the car he’d seen her drive that Jigen stopped scowling. There was an angry phone call Lupin received halfway to their hideout, and Goemon heard the words “lost” and “ocean” consecutively. Lupin laughed it off, teasing Fujiko while apologizing profusely. She hung up with a shout, always with the last word. Goemon caught Jigen smiling by the end of the conversation, but the corners of his lips dropped when Lupin glanced up. Subtle. It was subtle the way Lupin’s shoulders dropped. How Jigen reached over to adjust the stick mechanism of the car when it started to putter. Lupin’s fingers grazing over the top of his knuckles before the gunman took his hand back. All the actions seemed secretive, but natural.

With each moment Goemon gathered, the image grew clearer. However, there were those moments when Lupin or Jigen would mess things up. Moments where they took a permanent marker and colored over important pieces turning them black and leaving him unsure where to place them. It could be with how far Lupin would chase after a woman if she needed help. If she wanted him. If she wanted what he had. It could also be with Jigen’s sheer indifference for romantic gestures. How his eyes wandered from time to time although he took no further action. His way of recoiling from touch, and his brutal honesty that might hurt as much as it’d help. This forced Goemon to go over the blacked out pieces with rubbing alcohol hoping not to ruin the paint as he cleared the image. Jigen didn’t recoil from Lupin’s touch. Lupin always considered what Jigen said. Contemplative. Assuring Jigen that he listened even if he did something else anyway. Untangling what they had was a long process, messy, murky, confusing, and Goemon spent so much time doing so he felt foolish giving up now to just ask for the answer.

Opening the door to the large cottage that was their current hideout, Goemon shuffled the groceries he’d brought back. The current heist goal was stealing a painting from Manet before a rival criminal who challenged Lupin with a live TV announcement. Jigen shook his head at the theatrics the man displayed as he talked about hacking into satellites to send the message country wide so Lupin could see it, but Lupin was excited for the challenge. Goemon knew so from the sparkle in his eyes and the smile that took over the bottom half of his face.

He was measuring the rice when a crash came from the room next door. He didn’t flinch as he left the kitchen, his hand on Zantetsuken, and his back now to the wall next to the office door. His ears twitched, listening for sounds, and he heard the ruffle of fabric. Were they being kidnapped? Goemon needed to think. There was a window in the office on the wall facing the outside of the house near the woods. If their rival were tracking them by satellite, it’s plausible that someone was knocked out and being dragged off, or someone was snooping. Lupin’s plans were scattered between the dining room, the living room, and the office making it difficult to figure out which valuable information was where. Chair legs scraped along the floor, and he clenched his jaw. No time to ponder over it. He placed his hand on the knob, turning it slowly and opened the door his sword halfway out as he entered the doorway.

Goemon’s eyes went wide as saucers at the sight he was met with. There was no kidnapping attempt. Neither was there a stranger in the building. There was only Jigen in cowboy boots and a cowboy hat sitting naked in Lupin’s lap. Lupin was also naked with his back on the floor, his hands on Jigen’s hips, and a pair of bull horns on his head. Goemon felt his face grow warm, then hot, and then his vision went black.

Jigen let his hands fall onto Lupin’s chest, “Great.”

“Quick! Let’s finish before he wakes up.”

The cowboy hat was shoved onto Lupin’s face, and Jigen stood up to grab his pants. He ignored Lupin’s whining, choosing instead to get dressed and hook his arms under Goemon’s armpits to get him out of there.

“Jigen~. Come on, I was close.”

Jigen leveled him with a glare which made the thief grumble and fall back onto the rug with crossed arms.

By the time Goemon woke up, he was lying on the couch with a mild headache. The sound of someone, Jigen, cooking came from the kitchen, meanwhile Lupin sat in the armchair beside him glaring at the newspaper. He received the answer to the question he’d been sitting on the past year. He simply wished he’d swallowed his pride and asked. Yet, as adults, they were careful not to repeat past mistakes, so from then on, Goemon learned to ignore any door with Jigen’s hat or a yellow tie hanging from the knob.


End file.
